This is going to be a part-strategy guide, part-multi-AAR report... so bear with me 
Communist China is for grognards. You have 2 provinces. You have 6 units. You have the manpower to build 2 more. That's it for the next 5 years. Luck!
You do have 2 nice 3-skill 9/12-division-capable generals. You do have a balanced economy (you only need rubber but that you can easily get - just bid for TWICE what you use daily at a rate of 10:1 and you will always get it. 110 coal, 20 steel, 20 oil constantly get me the 7.5 daily rubber. Try bidding less, and you get less.
You are sitting on top of the mountain ridge. The enemy needs 6:1 to root you out (you did remember to entrench right?).
You are not getting any techs. At all. By the time you reach the level 1 organization theory, you're most likely dead. So don't bother.
You are not getting any foreign aid. So don't bother with that screen either.
Just build up instantly (option 1: 2 militias, option 2: 2 artillery-enhanced cavalry, heavier, but they arrive later, so Nationalists may attack you sooner).
The summary of three games up to date:
1. A year of constant fighting. One of my generals advanced from skill 3 to skill 8.85 or so by 1937. Take that, Zhukov/Patton.
Of course, by 1938, Japan came in, and took out us both.
2. Nationals ignored me I went after them, took 8 provinces, since their troops were undersupplied and weak, but then they leashed back. Heavily.
3. A crazy all-out assault. 64 (sixty-four) divisions of Nationals dropping out of the blue and taking me out in a matter of hours...
But I am learning And soon this thread shall see a better attempt of survival on my part.
Things I've noticed so far:
1. Don't worry about your leaders. Somehow, somehow they survive even if the whole army was destroyed.
2. Never ever leave a province unguarded.
3. Take off message notifications "air unit has arrived to _ province". Otherwise I wouldn't want to be you when you engage in recurrent tactical bombing.
4. Dive bombers refuse to follow troops into battle ("out of range"), they wait until the troops have started fighting? Huh?
Communist China is for grognards. You have 2 provinces. You have 6 units. You have the manpower to build 2 more. That's it for the next 5 years. Luck!
You do have 2 nice 3-skill 9/12-division-capable generals. You do have a balanced economy (you only need rubber but that you can easily get - just bid for TWICE what you use daily at a rate of 10:1 and you will always get it. 110 coal, 20 steel, 20 oil constantly get me the 7.5 daily rubber. Try bidding less, and you get less.
You are sitting on top of the mountain ridge. The enemy needs 6:1 to root you out (you did remember to entrench right?).
You are not getting any techs. At all. By the time you reach the level 1 organization theory, you're most likely dead. So don't bother.
You are not getting any foreign aid. So don't bother with that screen either.
Just build up instantly (option 1: 2 militias, option 2: 2 artillery-enhanced cavalry, heavier, but they arrive later, so Nationalists may attack you sooner).
The summary of three games up to date:
1. A year of constant fighting. One of my generals advanced from skill 3 to skill 8.85 or so by 1937. Take that, Zhukov/Patton.
Of course, by 1938, Japan came in, and took out us both.
2. Nationals ignored me
I went after them, took 8 provinces, since their troops were undersupplied and weak, but then they leashed back. Heavily.3. A crazy all-out assault. 64 (sixty-four) divisions of Nationals dropping out of the blue and taking me out in a matter of hours...
But I am learning
And soon this thread shall see a better attempt of survival on my part.Things I've noticed so far:
1. Don't worry about your leaders. Somehow, somehow they survive even if the whole army was destroyed.
2. Never ever leave a province unguarded.
3. Take off message notifications "air unit has arrived to _ province". Otherwise I wouldn't want to be you when you engage in recurrent tactical bombing.
4. Dive bombers refuse to follow troops into battle ("out of range"), they wait until the troops have started fighting? Huh?
